The Freight encompasses roots music from around the world, presenting genres including blues, bluegrass, jazz, country, Hawaiian, Americana, global roots, folk, funk, Latin, Latin jazz, and more. The Freight schedule also includes special annual events such as a Legacy Festival, the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, Django Reinhardt Birthday Festival, and the Berkeley Bluegrass Festival. The Freight engages local musicians as guest curators of series focused on different musical genres; John Santos’ series, Raíces, presents concerts representing hemispheric creativity in a wide range of diverse Latinx American formats and styles. Nazy Kaviani of the Diaspora Arts Connection creates series highlighting Persian and Middle Eastern music traditions. Freight hosts the weekly Bobby McFerrin: Circlesongs participatory vocal events, and collaborates with the national organization Black Opry to curate and present four concerts per year. Annual festival events include the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, Django Reinhardt Birthday Festival, and a Bluegrass Festival.

Freight education programs include a dynamic set of learning opportunities for all ages. We offer on-site and remote beginning and advanced music classes for adults. For younger learners, the arts integration program Golden State of Song enhances and enriches the study of California history through music, with curriculum focused on historical events such as the World War II Japanese incarceration camps, the Second Great Migration, and the module “Ohlone Song,” introducing the musical traditions of Native people of the Northern California coast.

Each year, The Freight presents approximately 300 events in our 490-seat facility, including artistic and community initiatives aligned with the Freight’s dedication to promoting the understanding and appreciation of traditional music, and the variety of regional, ethnic, and social cultures that create it, to share, illuminate, and more deeply understand musical traditions representative of these respective cultures.